Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Series: Companion books with Anna and the French Kiss and Isla and the Happily Ever After

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Dutton Books

Released: 29 September 2011

Summary courtesy of goodreads.com: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.  When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door

For Fans Of: Sarah Dessen, Flat Out Love, Anna and the French Kiss, and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

My Review: Lola, oh Lola.  How I have loved you.  Lola and the Boy Next Door is the companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss.  Although many have mentioned that they like Anna better, I have to disagree.  Lola was amazing!  Although maybe I wasn’t the biggest fan of Lola herself (although I did envy her wardrobe, and her awesome dads! < < not a typo) I was a MASSIVE fan of one Mr. Cricket Bell.

Holy crap can anyone say SWOOOOONNNN??  Because that’s what I did people! I freaking SWOONED.  As she did with Anna and Paris, with Lola Perkins set the stage of San Francisco (another one of my favorite cities) perfectly.  Right down to the houses that line the streets and the parks that seem to pop up out of no where.  She also wove her characters together perfectly.  The relationships in Lola felt somehow, more real, than they did in Anna.  Maybe it’s because it is Perkins' second novel and she is dealing with more adult aged characters instead of high school kids?  Who knows, but I know that the way Perkins voices her adults it perfect.  Especially the adults in Lola’s life. For me, Perkins has always been a master of dialogue, seriously guys.  It’s not heady like Veronica Mars or Brick, it’s just real.  The conversations that run through this book are conversations that I have had with my parents, or with people that I know.  She is such an incredible talent of an author.

There were a lot of points where I felt like, “this is Anna, from St. Clair’s point of view” St. Clair and Lola are so similar personality and life-situation wise.  It was so nice to see the story from Lola’s point of view, to see her struggle.  Lola is the kind of heroine that I can really get behind because she cares a lot about Cricket.  She cares more about him than she cares about herself.  I feel like, not only is Lola an incredibly enjoyable and practically perfect read, it is also sending out the right message (finally!) to girls every where: That relationships are about being there for each other and building things up together.  They’re about caring more about the other person than yourself.  That’s the message that I took away from Lola, and that is the reason that I truly love it so much. (though her outfits and family helped a lot too) However, I DO recommend that you read Anna and the French Kiss first (if not just so you can squeal when characters re-appear).

The Name of the Star

Author: Maureen Johnson

Series: Shades of London # 1

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical Fiction

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Released: 29 September 2011

Summary (courtesy of goodreads.com):  The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London, it's the start of a new life at a boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

For Fans Of: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Frost, and This Dark Endeavor

My Review: The Name of the Star was my first experience with Maureen Johnson's books.  I had heard of Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes but had never gotten around to reading it, however when I saw this and noticed that it played heavily on my obsession with London and Ripper-lore I knew that it would quickly climb the list of books I wanted to read.  There were many things that I enjoyed about this novel.  The East London setting was written with such attention to detail that I felt like I was with Rory experiencing London for the first time.  What I was most surprised about what the hilarity of Johnson's writing style. This is one of few books that made me laugh out loud!

Rory is such a fun and insightful heroine, full of Southern wit and charm, which I will admit was hard for me to imagine in the beginning.  Rory grows on you, there are so many things that I highlighted in this book, little sentences that she says like "children are stupid" and "there's a difference between being a guy and being an idiot".  Rory was straightforward, and very typical of what I imagine a young adult from the South to act like.  She was a little firecracker that added a lot of fun to the plot.

Rory wasn't the only character that I loved. Callum, Stephen, and Boo were also fun, and fantastic balances to Rory. They brought a more adult tone and made navigating Rory's "affliction" easier on the audience.  They also added a lighter tone to the impending darkness that shadowed this book.  Boo was such a fun and bright character, with an incredible accent to boot and Stephen and Callum were both so attractive and cute (look for the scene when Stephen lends Rory is sweats! Swoon!); although it isn't stated I am definitely sensing a love-square to come out of this series (Rory has a somewhat drippy boyfriend/make out buddy throughout the novel that doesn't make any type of impression.) The villain was also someone I could get behind, they had a serious motive (although selfish - which most murders are) and the scenes that she/he appeared in were definitely terrifying.  I don't read a lot of scary paranormal ghost story books, which means I scare relatively easily.  The Name of the Star definitely got my blood pumping.

The only thing that I had a hard time with was Rory's parents.  Supposedly they are PhD's on sabbatical.  I understand that, but if my daughter were living in a boarding school where a murder had taken place on the front lawn I wouldn't be hesitating to ship her back up to wherever I was.  Although I understand that it would have messed up the plot, and I am glad that Johnson did enact the seemingly standard 'un-caring parents' that run rampant in YA novels, I do wish that Rory's had taken a little bit more of an interest in her life.  Other than that the plot was tight, it moved effortlessly along with the help of the characters, all of whom make smart decisions.  One of my biggest peeves with YA literature is when you seem to have one character that insists on always 'taking one for the team' however, this team of Shades definitely work together.  The history aspect of the novel was also wonderful, I hadn't actively studied Ripper-lore beyond History Channel and PBS Halloween specials, but this definitely spurred along my interest in it.  Johnson did her homework!  I love when authors do their homework! I am very excited for this trilogy to develop.  The second book (supposedly titled The Madness Underneath) Is set to come out in 2013!  This is definitely recommended for a weekend read that will keep you laughing and get you thinking.